Implosion at the Pentagon

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American Strategy Program

On June 10th the American Strategy Program brought in Senior Adviser to CSIS and the Atlantic council, Washington Times columnist, and renowned expert on military affairs Harlan Ullman for a thought-provoking discussion with American Strategy Director Steve Clemons on the drastic need for reform at the Pentagon. An MP3 audio recording can be downloaded below, while video is available at right.

Harlan Ullman outlined in stark terms the problems faced by our military in the coming years: ballooning defense budgets that cannot easily be paid for, a bloated and inefficient procurement process, the cost of enlarging the military, and a powerful military that is nonetheless poorly equipped and trained for the wars it is currently fighting.

To face these issues, Ullman discussed a series of ideas for reform, drawing on history and modern thought alike. He proposed several ideas, from revamping the procurement process to increasing enrollment at the service academies and the National Defense University, and redefining NATO as a security alliance, rather than a defensive one. But his most striking idea was that the military needs to rethink its entire concept of war-fighting, and decide once and for all whether it will be a force that fights big, conventional wars, or one that fights the “smaller” asymmetric wars seen in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Steve Clemons then highlighted the loss of prestige suffered by an overextended military in Iraq, and the urgent need to decide how America uses its influence in the world, whether it is through military or other means.

Discussion of military reform is crucial, given both the changing nature of warfare and the potential for conflict erupting around the world, whether with states like China or Iran or non-state actors like Al-Qaeda. As these threats emerge, they can only be dealt with by a prepared, well-trained military and a defense establishment capable of making the hard decisions about how the military should be run, without partisan considerations. For more on this topic, see Steve Clemon’s recent blog post detailing the political back-and-forth surrounding possible military strikes on Iran.

-Andrew Lebovich, Research Intern, American Strategy Program

Participants

• Harlan Ullman
  Senior Advisor, Center for Strategic and International Studies
  Senior Advisor, Atlantic Council
  Columnist, Washington Times

• Steven Clemons
  Director, American Strategy Program, New America Foundation
  Publisher, www.TheWashingtonNote.com